Upcoming Events

June 28, 2017
Game Night
Join us for your favorite board (nor bored) games in a safe, air-conditioned, family friendly environment! $3 per person or $8 per family. Snacks and drinks for sale. Open to the public. For more details: Call 757-336-0614. Visit www.thechincoteaguecenter.com/meet-greet-open-house.Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PMLocation: The Chincoteague Center (6155 Community Drive)Sponsor: The Chincoteague Center

June 29, 2017
Introduction to Solar Science and the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017
Discover interesting facts about the Sun, learn how eclipses work, and find out where and how to safely view the Great Eclipse of 2017. This lecture, presented by the Delmarva Space Sciences Foundation is suitable for the novice and people with a background in astronomy and space sciences. For more details: Visit www.nasa.gov/content/wallops-visitor-center/special-events.Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PMLocation: NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center (Route 175 / Chincoteague Road)Sponsor: NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center

June 29, 2017
Summer Cinema Series
Free films outdoors under the stars in Robert Reed Downtown Waterfront Park. Bring a chair or blanket. Films begin at dusk. Enjoy popcorn and cold drinks at old-fashioned prices. In case of rain, films are shown at CCA Headquarters, 6309 Church Street. This month’s featured film is Tender Mercies. A broken-down, middle-aged country singer makes friends with a young widow and her son, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and finds inspiration to resume his career. Robert Duvall won the Best Actor Oscar for his role and Horton Foote won for Best Screenplay. The film also was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director (Bruce Beresford). Also starring Tess Harper. Rated PG. 1983 For more details: Visit www.chincoteagueculturalalliance.org/summer-cinema-series.html.Location: Robert Reed Downtown Waterfront ParkSponsor: Chincoteague Cultural Alliance

June 30, 2017
Chincoteague Story Telling Guild
Refreshments at 6:30pm and Story Telling starts at 7pm at the Chincoteague Island Library, 4077 Main St. Free admission. The Chincoteague Storytelling Guild is a partnership of the Chincoteague Island Library, the Museum of Chincoteague Island, and the Chincoteague Cultural Alliance (CCA). CCA continues to work with the Virginia Storytelling Alliance to advance the art of storytelling in all its forms. For more details: Visit www.chincoteagueculturalalliance.org/chincoteague-storytelling-guild.html.Time: 7:00 PMLocation: Chincoteague Island Library (4077 Main Street)Sponsor: Chincoteague Cultural Alliance

July 1, 2017
Fireworks in Celebration of Independence Day
The Pony Express will be operating 3 trolleys free of charge beginning at 5pm and the Town of Chincoteague will offer shuttle bus services from the Chincoteague Combined High School to the Carnival grounds beginning at 6pm. Visitor and citizens are encourage to use these free services as there will be very limited parking. (Rain date 7/8).Time: 10:00 PMLocation: Carnival Grounds (Main Street)Sponsor: Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company

July 1, 2017
Music at the Dock
Music at the Dock is a summer series of free concerts held in Robert Reed Park in Chincoteague’s historic downtown. Bring a blanket or chair, or dock your boat, and enjoy the music! Performance by Salisbury Community Band. For more details: Visit www.chincoteagueculturalalliance.org/music-at-the-dock.html.Time: 7:00 PMLocation: Robert Reed Park in Chincoteague’s historic downtownSponsor: Chincoteague Cultural Alliance

The best way to get to and from the Pony Swim site is by riding the free Pony Shuttle service provided by the Town of Chincoteague. Get all the details, including a printable map of the shuttle stops, at the Official Pony Swim Shuttle Guide.

The Chincoteague Fireman’s Carnival (with rides, games, raffles, and lots of good food) will be open each night (Mon – Sat) during pony penning week beginning at 7pm. Misty of Chincoteague will be showing, at 11:00 am daily, at the Island Theater during pony penning week (Mon – Fri). Admission is free and is first come, first served.

News & Announcements

Ride the free Shuttle Bus to the Fireworks display July 1st

Chincoteague’s Independence Day fireworks celebration will be on July 1st and will start at 10:00 pm. For your safety and enjoyment, you are requested to use The Pony Express trolley service which will be FREE for this event. Trolley stops are located throughout the island with a stop at the back of the carnival grounds. Also, a free bus shuttle from the Chincoteague High School will go directly to the carnival grounds.

URGENT NEWS!!! This year’s pony swim (Wednesday, July 26, 2017) will be one of the earliest in many years so we are trying to get the word out now. Expected swim time is between 6:00am and 8:00am. This is the plan unless we have some unforeseen event that would force us into a later time. So, plan now, prepare accordingly for an early event. PLEASE SHARE!!!

Pony Swim Organizers Are Looking for Help

Volunteers are needed to drive shuttle buses, give directions, and help keep heavy traffic under control.

Potential volunteers must meet the following requirements:

You don’t mind the early day.

You know the roads and streets on the island.

You know the history of the Pony Swim.

You must be willing to meet, greet, and inform the island’s visitors of the day’s events.

Expected swim time for the ponies is between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., although volunteers should be prepared to be at the event earlier.

If you are interested in volunteering on Pony Swim Day, you can contact the Town of Chincoteague Office at 757-336-6519 and ask for Kelly Lewis or Karen Hipple.

Post Pony Roundup Bus Tour – Second Bus Added

The Chincoteague Natural History Association (CNHA) has added a SECOND BUS for the “Post Roundup North Corral Trek” SUNDAY, JULY 23, 4:45 PM. Tickets $20.00 per person, limit 4. Must have name of each ticket holder in order to purchase. Call 757-336-3696 9 AM -4 PM daily to reserve using Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. The CNHA Bus will transport passengers to the north corral to view the ponies after the round up. They will spend aproximately 45 minutes at the corral and then travel back to the Bateman Center.

The twitter account @ChincoteagueOsv will be the place to get updates on storm and safety related closures to the OSV zones on the Virginia portion of Assateague Island.

Bingo for SeniorsThe Chincoteague Cultural Alliance is starting Bingo for Seniors! Come out and enjoy an afternoon of fun and socializing. Games are only $.25 each. Win prizes from local restaurants and shops. Last Monday of each month, 1:00 – 3:00pm. For more details visit www.chincoteagueculturalalliance.org/bingo-for-seniors.html.

Manna Café
EVERY Monday the Manna Café serves FREE hot lunch to people who live in the Chincoteague community. The lunch is served in the Social Hall at Christ United Methodist Church (6253 Church Street) from 11am until 1pm.

Recent Blog Posts

Wallops Island Rocket Launches

Recent Launches

RockOn 2017
RockOn was successfully launched on June 22, 2017 and carried 23 experiments from the RockOn! program, nine experiments from the RockSat-C program and more than 80 small cubes with experiments developed by middle school students in 49 states as part of the Cubes in Space program. This was the 10th anniversary of RockOn where university and college students and instructors visit Wallops and learn the basics of building experiments for suborbital flight.

RockOn launch from Wallops Island – June 22, 2017

Upcoming Launches

Ampoule Test

10 previous launch attempts of this rocket have been scrubbed for various reasons! The first attempt was May 31. Will the 11th attempt be a charm?
During the flight of a two-stage Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket, ten canisters about the size of a one-liter drink bottle will be deployed to 6 to 12 miles from the 670-pound main payload. Between approximately 4 and 5.5 minutes after launch, blue-green and red vapor will be deployed from the canisters forming artificial clouds. These clouds or vapor tracers allow scientists on the ground to visually track the winds in space. The development of the canister or ampoule ejection system will allow scientists to gather information over a much larger or spatial area than previously allowed when deploying the vapor just from the main payload.Date: June 29 – 30, 2017Time: 4:25 – 4:48 a.m. EDTRocket Type: suborbital Terrier-Improved Malemute

Next Antares Launch

Orbital ATK’s Antares team at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility is making great progress on the company’s eighth Cargo Resupply Mission (known as OA-8) to the International Space Station. The team plans to have Antares fully integrated and ready for the Cygnus payload by May.